News Articles

Below you will find news relevant to children in detention and the Befriend a Child in Detention project. Each news piece is dated with a month and year of publication and a link to the original news article.

LATEST NEWS

News: Another way to diminish refugee rights02.2018The government’s model for a national redress scheme would exclude children who were abused in Australia’s offshore detention network, a lawyers’ association has warned. Read the full article here.

News: Humanitarian crisis looms as Government collapses lifesaving support services for people seeking asylum02.2018Around 12,000 people seeking asylum living in Australia are at risk of losing lifesaving services due to Government changes. Read the full article here.

02.2018Costs to Australian government are outweighed by need to protect a vulnerable girl, court rules. Read more here.

News: Manus A Humanitarian Crisis

11.2017The humanitarian crisis we see unfolding on Manus Island has not arisen from nowhere, and was not unforeseen. It is an inevitable result of an evolving social calculus, designed to break vulnerable people seeking safety, and convince a nation that this cruelty is necessary.

News: GetUp Campaign: New Contractor for Nauru11.2017The Australian Government has struck an $8 million taxpayer-funded contract with Canstruct taking to keep the offshore detention regime up and running on Nauru for the next six months, and we understand Dutton wants to see Canstruct detaining people on Nauru for three more years.
There are already 369 people, including children, imprisoned within the Nauru camp. Recently, Minister Dutton told the 900 men on Manus Island they could ‘apply’ to go to Nauru — shunting them from one prison island to another.Can you contact Canstruct and urge them to walk away from Dutton’s deal and his cruel regime? To do so click here.

News: Asylum seekers separated from children

10.2017

Australian immigration authorities are refusing to let asylum seekers held in offshore detention be present at the birth of their children.

“Iranian Kurd Mohammad Farahi said the Australian Border Force and officials on Nauru were refusing to let him travel to Brisbane to be with his heavily pregnant wife, who was flown to Australia for treatment after being diagnosed with dengue fever. Another four men on Nauru have never seen their infant children because of the same restriction”.

Events: Seminar: Grandmothers Against the Detention of Refugees10.2017

Melbourne Befrienders, you might be interested in an upcoming seminar run by the Melbourne Grandmothers Against the Detention of Refugees. Speakers include Professor Gillian Triggs, David Manne, Michael Gordon and Natasha Blucher. There’ll be time for them each to respond to your questions, and then there will be a moderated Q&A panel to find ways to take us forward with hope.

“At a global level, the Turnbull government’s “single-minded focus on deterrence” fundamentally misses the point. People fleeing danger deserve safety. To get it they must go somewhere. The focus needs to be on making sure they get there in a safe and orderly way. After all, if every country in the world had a “single-minded focus on deterrence” then persecuted people would be left with nowhere to flee.”

2,011 people remain on Manus & Nauru after 52 left for the US. These people live in complete uncertainty, with no idea if or when they will be free.

One refugee told the Refugee Action Coalition “We are happy to be finally going to the United States, but we are not excited. Our heart and hopes have died on Nauru.” “People are happy to be going to the USA,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition, “But the movement of just 50 people, shows the level of uncertainty that surrounds the deal with the USA.Read more here.

Action: Call your MP

09.2017

A year ago, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton tried to send 267 people — including babies born in Australia, back to danger in Nauru.

But Dutton was stopped — when thousands of people rallying around the country and demanded the Turnbull Government #LetThemStay.

Over the weekend, news broke that Dutton is again moving to force these people back into danger — this time by starving them into submission.

Call your MP and tell them to #LetThemStay. Use Get Up’s websiteto instantly find the contact details of your MP.

Action: Walk Together 201709.2017Walk Together is Welcome to Australia’s annual national celebration of Australia’s diversity – a tangible expression of the welcoming, fair and compassionate society we are committed to building. Walks will be happening all across Australia on Saturday 21 October, keep an eye on the Walk Together 2017 website, details of walks in other capital cities will be published soon https://www.welcometoaustralia.org.au/walk-together-2016/News: An open letter to Peter Dutton on behalf of all those ‘un-Australian’ lawyers09.2017Dutton has claimed ‘lawyers represented asylum seekers are un-Australian’. Dr Catherine Williams responds n an open letter to Dutton, read more here.
News: Charities, advocates, unions join forces to fight asylum seeker crackdown09.2017400 asylum seekers living in the Australian community will be striped of $200 per fortnight in welfare payments and will also lose their accommodation. This is a torturous government bid attempting to force asylum seekers back to their homeland where they have fled persecution. Read more here. Action: #EvacuateNow Four Years Too Many, Vigil 19 July06.2017For the past four years successive Australian governments have chosen to make people seeking safety suffer in offshore detention. The US deal won’t provide safety for everyone. The men, women and children abandoned in offshore detention are in immediate danger with nowhere safe to go.This is an urgent SOS. The camps must be evacuated immediately.#EvacuateNow Four years too manyVigils are happening all across Australia, follow this linkfor details of a vigil happening in your capital city. News: UN official says Australia responsible for ‘inhuman’ treatment of asylum seekers06.2017Criticism from the United Nations continues. “The UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, François Crépeau, has reported on his visit to Australia last November, saying Australia’s strong human rights record was tarnished by an abusive offshore detention system that “cannot be salvaged”.”#BringThemHereRead the full article here.

Events: Refugee Week 18 June – 24 June

Refugee Week is coming up in June. This is the perfect time to raise awareness and support refugees and asylum seekers. Have a look at our Refugee Week Activities for ideas to raise awareness in your school and community, and to support refugee and asylum seeker children on Nauru.

BCD: Books, resources and dolls sent to children on Nauru05.2017

Books, resources and dolls sent to children on Nauru (May 2017)

A message from the Convenor of the Befriend a Child in Detention Project, Dr June Factor

Since 2014, we have been befriending our refugee and asylum seeker children, especially those held on Nauru. At the beginning of May, 24 boxes filled with beautiful gifts sent by our ever-growing number of supporters will be on their way to Nauru: new books for the littlies, the tweens and the teenagers, each with letters of greeting from children and adults here; books to write in; sketch pads and coloured pens and pencils; comforting small hand-made dolls with material to make their own… All this possible because of the kind hearts and generosity of so many Australians.

These children should not be detained on a rocky, poverty-stricken Pacific island. They should be living and flourishing in Australia, part of our community. Until they are freed, the Befriend a Child in Detention Project will continue to encourage and support them. Our small Leadership Group sends its grateful thanks to all – children and adults – who contribute with gifts, donations, and by spreading the word.

What else can you do? We recommend that you ask your local Member of Parliament to act on your behalf to free the children. It’s asking for nothing but decent humanity.

News: UN official says Australia responsible for ‘inhuman’ treatment of asylum seekers06.2017Criticism from the United Nations continues. “The UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, François Crépeau, has reported on his visit to Australia last November, saying Australia’s strong human rights record was tarnished by an abusive offshore detention system that “cannot be salvaged”.”#BringThemHereRead the full article here.News: Holding refugees and asylum seekers on Manus and Nauru has cost about half a million dollars per person each year.05.2017The Age reports that: The cost of holding refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru, where there is also a hellish detention centre, is about half a million dollars a person each year. It costs less than $15,000 to process a person onshore in the community.Read the article here. News: 25 years of mandatory detention, from ‘interim measure’ to immovable policy05.2017“In December 1992, the high court decided mandatory detention was lawful – partly because of the “limit”. Almost simultaneously, the “limit” disappeared. By December, the indefinite detention that Hand “could not expect parliament to support” in May had become law. Some years later, the high court would uphold mandatory detention with not even the pretence of an upper limit, acknowledging the possibility of detention for life.One of the most striking aspects of mandatory detention is that it is triggered by operation of law. There is no actual decision to detain. In the business of government, courts review decisions. Because mandatory detention is decision-less, courts have nothing to review. Although release is now possible, it is at the absolute discretion of the minister.”News: Australia’s shame on stage for the world to witness05.2017Jennifer Robinson writes: “As an international human rights lawyer I deal with abhorrent cases all over the world, but I felt sick listening to what the Australian government is doing in Nauru in our name.”Read the full article here. News: Hey Dutton/Turnbull Australians Say #closethecamps and #letthemstay05.2017A new poll shows Australians are “bleating all they want” for the Turnbull Government to close the camps and let asylum seekers stay, reports GetUp‘s Matthew Phillips.Read more here.News: For a rights based approach to asylum seekers Australia must work toward a medium-term solution05.2017

Refugee policy experts have put together a medium-term solution to the asylum seeker crisis. To summarise, they say that;

Firstly, Australia must redirect funds from offshore detention to the UNCHR to allow them to provide timely and thorough status determinations for those seeking asylum in the region. Secondly, increase Australia’s quota for refugee resettlement. Thirdly, promote regional co-operation so that other countries join Australia in offering more resettlement places or temporary forms of protection. Read the full article here. Events: Palm Sunday, Walk for Justice for Refugees03.2017 The Befriend a Child in Detention project will once again be joining the Palm Sunday, Walk for Justice for Refugee’s walk in Melbourne. We would love you to join us.Sunday 9 April, 2pm at the State Library of Victoria.The Befriend a Child in Detention team will be meeting outside Mr Tulk cafe at 1:45pm.We will be holding a Befriend a Child banner and giving out postcards and flyers. If you spot us please introduce yourself and join our walking team.More details can be found on the event Facebook page.Please see flyers below for details of rallies in other states:

News: Drawings reveal the struggles and triumphs of child refugees in their first six months of high school

03.2017

Pictures tell 1000 words. Amanda Hiorth has been researching the experiences of refugee teenages in highschool. She writes: “Pictures have been found to be a powerful data source for vulnerable young people, providing them with an alternative to express their voice and conceptualise their thoughts without the need for language.”

The Brisbane Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support Network (BRASS) are asking for your help. BRASS are raising money to keep RAILS (Refugee & Immigration Legal Service Inc) and Salvos Humanitarian Clinics open past the 30th June. There are only 2 clinics in the whole of Queensland that operate to support asylum seekers in filling out their immigration applications, and they are struggling to remain open.

These clinics offer such valuable support to asylum seekers that need to fill out a 60 pages report (only in English) detailing their past exposure to war, torture or persecution. With the legal and language aid, this gives asylum seekers a radically better chance at stating their case and finding safety.

These clinics are primarily run by volunteers, but funds are still necessary:
$110 will provide an hour of support
$836 will keep a clinic going for a day
$4180 will fund a clinic for a week
Breaking it down this covers: supervising lawyers, paralegal support, interpreting charges and application costs.

Take Action: GetUp! Petition to help Zaharah* save her dad03.2017 Next week, Zaharah* will go to Canberra – to meet with politicians and beg them to bring her dad here, and allow her family to be reunited.
Zaharah, her mother, and her siblings all live in Sydney. Her dad has been held on Manus Island for nearly four years.
As Peter Dutton hides behind the Trump resettlement deal – he’s said nothing about the future of split families like Zaharah’s. This could be her last chance to bring her family together, here in Australia.So Zaharah is going to Canberra, to tell her family’s story. And we can make sure she isn’t going alone.
Thousands of GetUp members have already signed the #SafetyForAll petition, calling on the government to provide safety for everyone held on Manus and Nauru – and that means reuniting families in Australia.Sign the petition now, so that Zaharah can show politicians how many voters support her family?Events: Film: ‘Cast from the Storm’03.2017 In ‘Cast from the Storm’ a group of teenage refugees share their extraordinary stories when they join an after-school theatre group.Book tickets here. News: The Monthly, It’s time to rethink the asylum seeker policy03.2017

Robert Manne shares his perspective on the asylum seeker debate, arguing there is a way to save those imprisoned on Nauru.

“Nauru and Australian immigration officials have called a crisis meeting as a major dengue fever outbreak threatens to overwhelm the Pacific island nation’s public health system…there are now at least 70 known cases of dengue on Nauru, including at least 10 asylum seekers and refugees held on the island by Australia.”

Read the full story here. News: The Guardian, Women of Nauru: Seeing my sons in a school uniform is my only dream02.2017

Stories from mothers living on Nauru:

“My memories in Nauru are eating away at my soul like leprosy. I feel I am devalued and humiliated…I can’t get used to this nightmare.”“Due to stress, my eight-year-old son has been losing his hair, little by little, in circle-shaped patches usually about the size of a coin. I’ve attempted self-harm three times. I can’t tolerate the fact that I am not able to save my children and give them hope anymore.”“I feel like the Australian government utilises all of their tools to make us soulless and numb. They have normalised our deprivation, fatality and death.”Read more here. BCD: Befriend a Child in Detention joins over 100 organisations in calling for an end to offshore processing02.2017 “Successive Australian governments have managed and funded offshore detention camps on Manus Island and Nauru. The people detained there are clearly Australia’s responsibility. This situation has reached crisis point, and immediate action must be taken…”

Reading the stories of refugees reminds us that they are just like us, and are doing exactly what we would do in a time of crisis. Sarah Smith shares the story of a woman currently imprisoned on Nauru: “Marie and her husband had two choices: stay, and face torture and execution, leaving their children without parents and with no prospects for employment or education, or to flee with their children to another country. She did what I, or any mother, would do — she took her children and ran for her life.”

“Nauru and Australian immigration officials have called a crisis meeting as a major dengue fever outbreak threatens to overwhelm the Pacific island nation’s public health system…there are now at least 70 known cases of dengue on Nauru, including at least 10 asylum seekers and refugees held on the island by Australia.”

Read the full story here. News: The Guardian, Women of Nauru: Seeing my sons in a school uniform is my only dream02.2017

Stories from mothers living on Nauru:

“My memories in Nauru are eating away at my soul like leprosy. I feel I am devalued and humiliated…I can’t get used to this nightmare.”“Due to stress, my eight-year-old son has been losing his hair, little by little, in circle-shaped patches usually about the size of a coin. I’ve attempted self-harm three times. I can’t tolerate the fact that I am not able to save my children and give them hope anymore.”“I feel like the Australian government utilises all of their tools to make us soulless and numb. They have normalised our deprivation, fatality and death.”Read more here. BCD: Befriend a Child in Detention joins over 100 organisations in calling for an end to offshore processing02.2017

“Successive Australian governments have managed and funded offshore detention camps on Manus Island and Nauru. The people detained there are clearly Australia’s responsibility. This situation has reached crisis point, and immediate action must be taken…”

Reading the stories of refugees reminds us that they are just like us, and are doing exactly what we would do in a time of crisis. Sarah Smith shares the story of a woman currently imprisoned on Nauru: “Marie and her husband had two choices: stay, and face torture and execution, leaving their children without parents and with no prospects for employment or education, or to flee with their children to another country. She did what I, or any mother, would do — she took her children and ran for her life.”

Fleeing persecution, Nayser Ahmed was separated from his family en route to Australia. While they rebuild their lives in Sydney, he remains stuck on Manus Island.

Families have been indefinitely divided by Australia’s unjustifiably harsh and inhumane asylum policies.

News: The Guardian, Missing documents, unskilled staff, poor value for money: Auditor-General lashes immigration detention01.2017 (first published 09.2016)Overspending on immigration detention has been revealed through an audit taken place in September 2016. Overseas immigration detention has cost taxpayers more than half a million dollars a year for each asylum seeker.Read the full article here.News: Bring them here: Gillian Triggs’ plea to Malcolm Turnbull on asylum seekers01.2017 Professor Triggs said: “Because no other solutions have been found, clearly those on Nauru and Manus must be brought to Australia. They’ve been held for years, many of them. It’s indefinite detention with no solution and I see no other alternative at the moment to bringing them to Australia and integrating them.”Read the full article here.Support Befriend a Child in Detention: Buy Anja & Zlatna ‘Live in Concert’ DVD01.2017Ensemble Anja & Zlatna is known for its beautiful melodic lines and complex rhythms from Eastern Europe, the Middle East and beyond. The ensemble’s unique sound comes from the unusual blend of flute, bass, percussion, uilleann pipes, mouth harp, harpsichord and voices.Anja & Zlatna have just released their ‘Live in Concert’ DVD and are donating all the proceeds from their DVD sales to the Befriend a Child in Detention Project. Buy the DVD by following this link: https://form.jotform.co/befriendachild/anja-zlatna-dvd

Events: Refugee Film Festival: The Baulkham Hills African Ladies Troupe01.2017On 19th January 2017 the Refugee Council of Australia will be hosting a screening of The Baulkham Hills African Ladies Troupe. A portrait of four African refugee women who turned their harrowing stories of survival into a joyous theatre production.You can buy tickets by following this link. Watch the trailer here:

News: June Factor – local hero11.2016June Factor, the Convenor of the Befriend a Child in Detention project has been nominated for The Weekly Review’s local heroes award. Please follow this link to vote for June, voting closes 27 November 2016.

Events: Humanitarian Concert: Anja & Zlatna11.2016

Last night we had the pleasure of enjoying beautiful music by Anja & Zlatna. Anja, Kirsty and the wonderful band members that make up this amazing ensemble generously donated their time and raised $1030 for the Befriend a Child in Detention project. Thanks to everyone for coming, it was a truly wonderful concert for children in immigration detention.

Resources: Universal Children’s Day

10.2016

This week Australia celebrates Universal Children’s Week. With this day in mind the Befriend a Child in Detention team have created lesson plans, fact sheets and other resources to help teach and parents teach their children about the experiences of refugee and asylum seeker children, who may be unable to celebrate this day as they should.

News: Books and letters have arrived on Nauru!10.2016Our books and letters arrived in Nauru last week! A big thank you to We Care Nauru for coordinating the delivery and to Reza for distributing our books and letters to children on Nauru.

Media: Amnesty International, Island of Despair10.2016Last week Amnesty International released their report Island of Despair in which the revealed that the conditions on Nauru amount to torture. In this report they state: The Australian Government is choosing to subject women, men and children to an elaborate and cruel system of abuse with a policy that is intentionally designed to harm people.Read the report here. Media: The Age, Manus and Nauru detention centres are like England’s prison hulks in the Thames10.2016

Martin Flanagan writes: We see government ministers saying they have to enact the law to the letter or anarchy will prevail, we see most of the citizenry not affected by the crisis paying little heed, we see the odd brave individual standing up. It is in this sense that Nauru and Manus Island are the rotting hulks of our day and, as a Tasmanian, let me say that it is how they will be remembered.

Read the article here. Media release: National Council of Churches Australia10.2016The National Council of Churches Australia have issued a media release asking for cooperation to settle the asylum seekers from Nauru and Manus Islands. The Media release states: The continuing reports out of both places are a source of deep concern. Letters have been sent to both the Prime Minister and the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to encourage them to join in discussions with faith leaders and Church organisations. These organisations have significant resources in overseas aid and domestic welfare which they can bring to the task of settling these displaced people.Read the media release here.

For Media Contact Bishop Philip Huggins 0418 799 515

Media: The Saturday Paper: Culture war in offshore detention10.2016An interesting read by Martin Mackenzie-Murray: “The response to Four Corners’ Nauru report underscores a shift in the immigration debate from human lives to media bias”.Read the article here. Media: Lateline: interview with Anna Neistat from Amnesty International10.2016Last week Amnesty International released a report declaring the Australian government’ responsibility for conditions on Nauru that amount to torture. Lateline interviewed Anna Neistat, a key researcher on this report. You can watch this episode on iview by following this link.Media: Four Corners, The Forgotten Children10.2016

Last week’s episode Four Corners ‘The Forgotten Children’ told the story of the 193 children currently on Nauru. You can watch it on iview now by following this link.

News, Radio Show and Article: RNZ: Australian Detention Atrocity Exposed on Nauru10.2016

In this New Zealand radio interview Dr Nina Zimmerman discusses atrocity that she has witnessed on Nauru. She stated: “Seeing their parents in states of depression, engaging in acts of self harm and suicide. The children are following suit.”

Listen to the interview or read the article here. News: Inside Story: How Many Migrants Come to Australia Each Year?10.2016

Were you confused by last week’s debate on Q&A regarding the number of migrants Australia takes in each year? This article clears up some of the statistics around permanent and temporary migration, while one thing remains clear: Australia is a rich, prosperous nation, that could be supporting thousands more humanitarian entrants than we currently are.

News: Four Corners: The Forgotten Children10.2016There are 193 refugee and asylum seeker children currently living on Nauru. This week’s episode of Four Corners tells their stories. Tune into Four Corners Monday at 8:30 on ABC to hear their stories or catch up on iview.

Events: Humanitarian Concert: Music Without Borders

10.2016Everyone is invited to the next Humanitarian Concert: Music Without Borders, to be held at the Church of All Nations in Carlton.All proceeds go to Befriend a Child in Detention. Anja and Zlatna will be playing beautiful Macedonian music. Tickets: Entry by donationFor more information email: project@befriendachild.comEducational Resource: AHRC New interactive website introduces students to human rights10.2016The Australian Human Rights Commission has launched an interactive websiteto give school students a foundation in international human rights.“Through challenging and thought-provoking activities, the website introduces Year 5 and Year 6 students to the concept of human rights and explores the important relationship between fundamental rights and personal responsibilities.”Read more about the website here.Visit the website here.

BCD: New program: Universal Children’s Day (week: Saturday 22 – Sunday 30 October 2016)10.2016Universal Children’s Day is coming up in October! Universal Children’s Day is an opportunity to promote the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: to raise awareness of the rights of all children to protection, wellbeing, and an environment in which they feel safe and secure enough to freely play and learn.

The Befriend a Child in Detention Project has created useful lesson plans and resources to help schools celebrate and learn about Universal Children’s Day and the situation of refugee and asylum seeker children around the world.

News: Huffington Post, A Better World for Refugees09.2016The UN Summit on 19 of September 2016 instituted the The New York Declaration. This declaration contains bold commitments both to address the issues we face now and to prepare the world for future challenges, and concrete plans for how to build on these commitments. This declaration has the potential to create concrete change on a global scale, and a better world for refugees.Read the full article here. News: The Age, Australia’s badge of honour is really a badge of shame09.2016Malcom Turnbull has been promoting Australia’s asylum policies as the ‘best in the world’. Michael Gordon writes: “Malcolm Turnbull is right. Australia does have the world’s best border protection policy, if the principal measure of success is that no one gets in without an invitation.” The cost of this policy is shocking abuse of human rights and the denial of international responsibilities to asylum seekers and refugees.Read the full article here. News: Missing Out, Refugee education in crisis09.2016Opportunities to learn diminish greatly when children are forced to flee their homes and as they grow older.

Read more here. News: The Sydney Morning Herald, The extraordinary cost of keeping asylum seekers in detention: over $500,000 each09.2016New figures from the Audit Office have revealed that offshore processing costs $573,100 per detainee, per year. To add perspective, it costs less than half that, $200,000 a year, to house a typical onshore prisoner; a mere fraction of that, $72,000 including super, to pay a typical full-time worker, and just $20,700 a year to pay a full pensioner.Illustration Joe BenkeRead the full article here. News: The Age, Australia’s Forgotten Detention Centre09.2016Fewer than 30 asylum seekers are held there, but they are sprinkled among a detainee population of about 200 that includes those Dutton has accurately dubbed “some of the country’s most hardened criminals”.Read the full article here. News: The Guardian, Inside Manus: life in detention – a photo essay09.2016The Australian-run detention centre on Manus Island is home to more than 800 asylum seekers who live in bleak conditions – fearing for their own safety and facing uncertain futures. Photographer Matthew Abbott visited the island and documented the lives of the refugees and asylum seekers he met, including the aftermath of a brutal attack.Read the full article here.

News: The Conversation,The tragedy of Eaten Fish, theaward-winning cartoonist on Manus Island09.2016Manus Island cartoonist, Eaten Fish, has won the 2016 international award for Courage in Editorial Cartooning. After announcing the award Robert Russell stated, “His cartoons will some day be recognised as important, world-class chronicles of the worst human behaviour since the World War II concentration camps.”Read the full article here.News: The Age, Australia’s inhumane offshore detention of asylum seekers must end09.2016“One of the most insidious things about our recent governments’ inhumane treatment of people seeking asylum is that the inhumanity is hidden.”Read the full article here.

News: The Guardian, Can we solve the asylum seeker crisis?09.2016Highlights from the Guardian workshop and panel on asylum at the 2016 Festival of Dangerous Ideas. With David Marr as host, a panel of experts on international law, domestic policy and global forced migration discussed alternative policy perspectives.Watch the video here. News: ABC news, Refugee who broke arm on Nauru has suffered loss of movement in his wrist and fingers09.2016

Children on Nauru are receiving inadequate medical care. A 12-year-old refugee boy suffered a broken arm at the Nauru detention centre after falling off his bike. He underwent surgery, however, was given no post-operative care and has now begun losing movement in his wrist and fingers.

There are currently 193 refugee and asylum seeker children on Nauru. Including 20 babies under 12 months old.

The government continues to state that there are 49 children on Nauru. These figures are false. The government is hiding the truth. Secrecy and lies surrounding offshore processing must end. #BringthemhereNOW.News: Judy Horacek, ‘Terrifying Things’09.2016

Is offshore processing working? What is life is like behind the wire on Manus Island and Nauru? Madeline Gleeson discusses offshore processing of asylum seekers on the ABC’s Big Ideas program.

Listen to the interview here. News: The Guardian, Australia criticised over ‘hollow’ promise to resettle 12,000 Syrian refugees09.2016One year ago, Australia promised to resettle 12,000 refugees. Since then, Canada has resettled 30,000 people. The US has resettled 10,000. Australia? Only 3,532.Read the full article here. News: The Age, We must settle the refugees before it’s too late09.2016Manus Island: “Causing suffering to complement and reinforce the ‘turn back’ strategy was always morally questionable, but it is now unnecessary.”Read the full article here. News: Jim Macken: A member since 1947, now I stay quiet about my connection to Labor09.2016ALP Life Member Jim Macken writes:Jurists from every country in the world now look on Australia as a land that denies the most vulnerable people their basic human rights. We have become the South Africa of the 21st century – that country that tortures people, imprisons children, detains people indefinitely for no crime – we are now that country….I would trade in my Doctorate, my Order of Australia, my life membership of the ALP and anything else I have of value tomorrow to free these poor buggars incarcerated on these prison islands.Read the full article here. News: The Guardian, We can resettle refugees in Australia and it’s not just wishful thinking. This is how09.2016

Jane McAdam writes: There are many sides to the refugee debate in Australia, but an overarching question is this: how can we create a more sustainable and humane policy that accords with international law? … We could insert a legislative requirement that Australian law must be interpreted in good faith, in accordance with our responsibilities under international refugee law and international human rights law.

BCD leadership team member Harold Zwier has written the following, thought provoking response in regards to Wilson’s withdrawal from offshore detention:

The news that Wilson Security will withdraw from providing guards to offshore detention centres is welcome news. It is simply not possible to isolate and guard a group of people who have sought protection under the refugee convention that we as a nation wholeheartedly support, without abuse and harm resulting.

While some applaud the policy success of the federal government in stopping asylum seekers from reaching Australia by boat, it is a single drop of success in a sea of failure. Successive Governments and Oppositions have avoided trying to genuinely tackle the undoubtedly difficult regional humanitarian issue of people fleeing danger. Instead they have both played political games.

But the single drop of political and policy success comes at the price of the appalling treatment of people whose lives have been damaged physically and mentally as they have been unashamedly used as pawns. And now that policy is coming apart on Manus and Nauru as countries and companies withdraw their support.

Prime Minister Turnbull, policies that recklessly damage peoples’ lives are not part of the mandate you have been given. The crystal clear moral and humanitarian issue of asylum seekers and refugees on Manus and Nauru needs to be addressed now.

News: Wilson Security Pulls Out of Offshore Detention09.2016

Get Up writes: “After one solid year of campaigning, Wilson Security just pulled out of offshore detention. They join Broadspectrum, the main companies who run the abusive camps on Nauru and Manus Island, who have committed to abandon their contracts when they run out in 2017. In other words, companies who were previously complicit in our abusive detention regime are running for the door.”

Excerpt: “…spontaneous community-led movements…the snowballing of outrage about the treatment of asylum seekers in offshore detention. And the common message? Tolerance and inclusion, solidarity with the outsider. These campaigns are so powerful, what’s more, because they tap into our commonalities, rather than our differences…increasingly we need to act collectively…”

Event: ASRC Community Action Workshop

08.2016

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre are running a series of Community Action Workshops to be held in communities across Victoria. In these workshops they will share the tools, resources and strategies to have persuasive conversations with family, friends and people in your networks to shift attitudes towards fair and humane policies for people seeking asylum.

Do you feel frustrated when family and friends dismiss or change the subject when you’re trying to talk to them about the Government’s unfair treatment of people seeking asylum? Then this workshop is for you.

Liberal MP Russell Broadbent has highlighted a major flaw in Australia’s so called commitment to saving lives: “It’s one thing to have people die at sea; it’s another to have them die in your arms and be responsible for that”. Read the article here.

News: SBS, Manus Island Detention Centre has cost $2 billion08.2016

The Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea has reportedly cost Australian taxpayers $1 million per detainee over the past four years. Read the article here.

News: Q&A, Corinne Grant08.2016

Last week on Q&A a minister claimed there were no ‘systemic issues’ with mandatory detention, Corinne Grant proved him wrong.

News: New Matilda, No Compromise: Refugee Turnbacks are Immoral and Illegal

08.2016

“We do have solutions, and have had them for years. Asylum seekers must live onshore in the community while their claims are processed and we must vastly increase the resettlement of people whom the UNHCR finds to be refugees in Indonesia. At the moment, that proposal is politically unacceptable”.Read the article here. News: Dumbo Feather, Feature article on June Factor08.2016

June Factor, the Convenor of the Befriend a Child in Detention Project was featured in Issue 48 of Dumbo Feathermagazine.

This issue included an in depth interview with June, in which she told the story of her life and her passion for helping children in detention. This issue also featured a one page article about the Befriend a Child in Detention project written by June. This is a wonderful story detailing the beginning of the project. You can read it here.

News: Mamamia, Myth-Busting Facts about Refugees08.2016

Five myths about refugees busted! Share this video with friends, family, colleagues, and anyone who needs clear cut facts.

Watch the video here.Take Action: Free the Children Nauru, Petition to The House of Representatives08.2016

The Befriend a Child in Detention team, in partnership with Free the Children Nauru, ask you to join in signing a formal petition to the House of Representatives. The petition is a request for a time frame for refugee resettlement and processing of people seeking asylum and that they are brought to Australia or NZ.

This is not an online petition.

There are many online petitions that are effective and do achieve significant change. However, the Government does not accept online petitions in parliament and Ministers are not obliged to respond to them. To the best of our knowledge there are no current petitions lodged with the House of Representative.

Special Congratulations: Fiona Wood has won the Older Readers book award from the Children’s Book Council08.2016Fiona Wood has been awarded the Children’s Book Council of Australia, Book of the Year, Older Readers for her novel Cloudwish.

Fiona is a talented woman and a much loved member of the Befriend a Child in Detention team. We would like to congratulate her on this wonderful achievement.

Fiona strongly believes that people seeking asylum in Australia should be treated with respect and compassion. In her speech at the CBCA award ceremony Fiona stated:

…”One of the things I hope that Cloudwish does is to stand as a love letter to the refugee families of Australia who entrust us with their hopes for a new home, and who enrich our society immeasurably. We have, for far too long, been betraying the trust of a number of children and their families currently on Nauru, and I know that I’m not alone in my frustration and despair that the situation is still unresolved.

Thank you to the Vietnamese Australian readers of my manuscript, Thanh Bui, Diem Nguyen, Quynh Nguyen, Lisa Hop Tran and Vicky Tu. Any mistakes are entirely mine, but I could not have written this book without their expertise and generosity. …”

Take Action: Bring Them Here Rally, 08.2016The Befriend a Child in Detention team will be standing up for refugees on Nauru and Manus islands and demanding that the government bring these vulnerable people to Australia. Join us at the Bring Them Here Rally at the State Library in Melbourne CBD on Saturday 27 August 2016 at 1pm. To our befrienders in other states, please see details below for rallies in your area.Thank you: Thank you to the children at Aurburn Primary School08.2016We would like to thank the wonderful children at Auburn Primary School in Melbourne for donating these beautiful, handmade books to be sent off to refugee children on Nauru. Every book has come with a message of friendship, hope and support. These books will be sent off in our next parcel of books and letters to be sent to Nauru, we are very excited to post them.News: Crickey, Nauru Files Show Wilson Underreported Incidents08.2016Bureaucracy’s role on Nauru: dehumanisation, neglect, suppression, ambiguity, inefficiency, inflexibility… and now, the underreporting of abuse by Wilson security staff trying only to protect themselves.Read the full article here.News: The Guardian, The Nauru files provide the evidence. Malcolm Turnbull can never plead ignorance.08.2016William Maley writes: “The Nauru files paint a searing picture of the collapse of basic humanity in the detention centre. History is unlikely to be kind to those who endorsed it”.Read the full article here.News: The Conversation, Cast adrift: Australia risks its international standing over asylum-seeker policies08.2016The world is watching as Australia violates numerous international laws and violates the human rights of thousands of asylum seekers and refugees. Read the full article here.Act Now: Bring Them Here Petition08.2016Call on the Australian Government to immediately bring these children women and men we have sent to Nauru to safety in Australia and urge the government to conduct an independent judicial inquiry into each incident to ensure justice is served to all who have suffered in our name.Sign the petition here.Act Now: Close the Camps Petition08.2016The camps on Nauru and Manus Island are hell-holes.The conditions in these camps are appalling and they are pushing already vulnerable people to self-harm. We want to see the men, women and children who are in need of protection immediately brought back to Australia so they can live in safety.We must close the camps now and bring the people locked up there to Australia for processing. Sign the petition here.News: The Saturday Paper, Apology Expected08.2016“One day, a prime minister will apologise to the people we hurt in offshore detention. One day we will say sorry for the boys and girls whose childhoods we stole, for the parents we drove mad, for the young men and women who tried to kill themselves to halt the unending cruelty of their lives.We will say sorry for the things we knew. We will say sorry and hope that we never again treat people the way we treated refugees. We will talk in hushed voices about the shame of the politics under which we currently live. Ministers like Dutton and Morrison will be named for their barbarism. One day we will say sorry and face up to the racist indifference with which we police our borders. Hopefully that day is not so far away.”Read the full article here.News: The Guardian, ‘This is Critical’: 103 Nauru and Manus Staff Speak Out – Their Letter in Full08.2016Doctors, teachers, caseworkers, managers and social workers call for the detention centres to be shut down after publication of Nauru files. Read the full article here.News: The Conversation, Houston Report on Asylum Seekers: Did the Panel Listen to the Experts?08.2016The Conversation’s asylum seeker expert panel released its own recommendations, tailored to the Houston’s terms of reference and based on the wealth of research evidence on asylum seeker issues.Read the full article here.

Befriend a Child in Detention: Greeting Cards Available for Purchase

08.2016

Gabi Wang has created beautiful greeting cards that are available for you to purchase online.

Proceeds from card sales go to the Befriend a Child in Detention project to fund various programs, including sending books, letters and other resources to children on Nauru.

The greeting cards are $24 for a pack of four cards, plus an additional $1.00 postage within Australia.

Befriend a Child in Detention: Response to the Nauru Files detailing more than 2,000 reports of abuse of asylum seeker children on Nauru

08.2016The Befriend a Child in Detention team is appalled by the reports of abuse that has been exposed through the Nauru Files. More than half of these reports contain incidents involving children, including incidents of self harm and sexual assault.We urge all members of the Befriend a Child community to speak up with compassion for the refugee and asylum seeker children who are subjected to this physical and mental abuse. You can phone or write to your State Senator and your local member of Parliament, speak to local media and talk-back radio and to any community groups you belong to. And of course there is social media – Facebook, Twitter etc. These children need us to support them, to stand up for justice and compassion.Statement from the Convenor of the Befriend a Child in Detention Project: Dr June Factor‘The Australian government must act immediately – all asylum seeker children and their families must be brought back to Australia as quickly as possible, and every assistance provided to these traumatised children.’ This is the urgent call of Dr June Factor, children’s writer and educator, and convenor of the Befriend a Child in Detention Project.‘Despite all the warnings, the government has allowed these children to be brutalised. The Minister’s cold response to this latest mountain of evidence of child abuse represents a government without principle or humanity. But now they can no longer hide behind their deceptive assurances that all is well with the children they have exiled on Nauru. Enough is enough!’Dr Factor’s support group has had contact with children on Nauru. ‘We have sent them beautiful children’s books, and hundreds of letters of friendship from children in Australia,’ she says. ‘But we know that these gestures of kindness and goodwill cannot protect or heal those children. Only the Australian government can do that. And it must, or be forever besmirched as accomplices to child abuse.’Befriend a Child in Detention: Launch of new program: Messages of Support to Refugee Children08.2016The Befriend a Child in Detention team have re-launched the letter writing program in the form of an online Message of Support system for asylum seeker and refugee children. Through this program you can upload messages of support to asylum seeker and refugee children. These messages will be posted in the Messages of Support Album, the Befriend a Child in Detention Facebook page and Instagram account for all asylum seeker and refugee children in Australia and on Nauru to view. Read more about this program here.View our Messages of Support album here.Befriend a Child in Detention: Donation of books to refugee and asylum seeker children at Coolaroo South Primary School08.2016The Befriend a Child in Detention team recently donated children’s books to refugee and asylum seeker children attending Coolaroo South Primary School in Broadmeadows, Victoria. June Factor and Julie Cleveland delivered the books to the school and also sat down with the children and had a discussion about reading. The children welcomed the books, as did the teachers. It is heartwarming to support refugee and asylum seeker children while promoting education and enjoyment through reading. News: Eureka Street, June Factor ‘Australia’s alien relations then and now’08.2016June Factor, the wonderful and ever impressive Convenor of Befriend a Child in Detention, has written an insightful article about the history of Australia’s immigration policies.Read the full article here.News: Sydney Morning Herald, Children on Nauru are not attending school08.2016There are over 100 asylum seeker and refugee children living on Nauru. Almost nine in 10 of these children are not attending school out of fear for their safety.

The poor attendance contrasts with a refugee and asylum seeker schooling program run by Save the Children until last year, which saw attendance rates of up to 90 per cent. The federal government closed that program, forcing the children to attend local schools.

“[Nauruan students] would tell them go back home, and [would say]: ‘You don’t belong here, we don’t want you here, you are terrorists, you make bombs’,”

Read the full article here.News: Amnesty International, Appalling abuse, neglect of refugees on Nauru08.2016Amnesty International have written an extensive report detailing shocking abuse of human rights on Nauru.

“Few other countries go to such lengths to deliberately inflict suffering on people seeking safety and freedom.” – Anna Neistat, Senior Director for Research at Amnesty International.

Read the full article here.News: The Age, Letter to the editor: MITA detention centre in Broadmedows08.2016There are over 1500 people imprisoned in immigration detention across Australia (excluding another 1296 imprisoned on Nauru and Manus Islands). This letter by Helen Stagoll published in The Age (July 26, p15) highlights how these innocent people are being treated.News: The Guardian, Refugees attacked on a daily basis on Nauru08.2016Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch representatives visited Nauru to examine Australia’s offshore immigration system and say they were shocked by what they found.“But the level of secrecy and the fact that these abuses are perpetrated not in the context of a war zone, not in context of an inherently oppressive government cracking down on its citizens, but that these abuses are perpetrated or condoned by Australia, and against the most vulnerable people, some of whom fled the most oppressive conflict areas in the world.”Read the full article here.News: Hell to Hell: Poems from Nauru08.2016An interview with Ravi, a refugee man who endured three and a half years in offshore detention. In this interview, he speaks about his book, “From Hell to Hell: Poems from Nauru”.Listen to the interview here.News: The Age, Stop the Bastardy of Australia’s offshore detention centres08.2016This article by Michael Short discusses that the royal commission into abuse in NTs detention centre is an important and necessary act. However, it should not be limited to this centre. It must include an exploration of treatment in all of Australia’s detention centres, both on Australia’s mainland, and offshore on Nauru and Manus islands.Read the full article here.News: Australian Story: Gone Girl – watch on ABCs iview07.2016This week’s episode of Australian Story titled Gone Girl puts a human face to the issue of asylum seeking boat arrivals.Mojgan Shamsalipoor fled terrible personal trauma in her home country, Iran, and found sanctuary in Brisbane where she was able to live in the community while awaiting a decision on her protection visa. At a youth camp she met a young Iranian refugee, Milad Jafari. They fell in love, married and were looking forward to a happier future.

However, despite her apparent good fortune, her visa has been denied and she is now locked in detention with little prospect of fulfilling her dream of having a family with Milad and becoming a midwife.But she has many supporters who are determined to see her released back into the community.

Watch the episode here.News: Immigration Devised Plan to Stymie Asylum-Seeker Medical Transfers07.2016The Australian have reported that immigration officials devised a strategy to prevent offshore ­detainees being transferred to Australia for medical treatment because of their “propensity” to take legal ­action and stay here. Asylum-seekers and refugees requiring medical attention should never be denied this right. This is another of many pressing reasons to bring all asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru and Manus to Australia immediately. Read the article here.Take Action: Sign this petition to bring Ali to AustraliaSave eaten fish is a campaign set up to campaign to bring cartoonist Ali Dorani from Manus Island to Australia for the specialised treatment he requires.The terrible true story of Mr Eaten Fish: Ali has been imprisoned on Manus island for three years now. Throughout the three years that Eaten Fish has been incarcerated on Manus Island he has suffered from ever worsening and extreme OCD, panic attacks – that can leave him literally paralysed, and Complex PTSD. Sign this petition to bring Ali to Australia to receive specialised treatment and support.Sign the petition here.Read his cartoon story as published in The Guardian.Read more about the Eaten Fish campaign by visiting their website. Events: Annual Social Justice Lunch, St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Elsternwick07.2016Annual Social Justice Lunch held at St. Andrew’s Uniting Church in Elsternwick.Sunday 7th August, 12 noon.$25 per person.See flyer for more details:Social Justice LunchNews: The UNHCR latest Global Trends Report has been released07.2016In 2015 global displacement reached a record high: 65.3 million people have been forced to leave their homes, an increase of 4.8 million people since last year.Children made up 51 percent of the world’s refugees in 2015. Australia needs to step up. Of the 2.45 million refugees who had their status recognised or were resettled in 2015, just 0.48% were assisted by Australia (11,776 people).Compared to resettlement by other countries, Australia was ranked 25th overall, 32nd per capita and 47th relative to total national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).Global Trends, Forced Displacement in 2015News: The Guardian,Majority of Australians say refugees who arrive by boat should be let in, poll finds07.2016A poll of more than 1,400 people commissioned by The Australia Institute found 63% of respondents oppose the bipartisan policy that refugees who arrive in Australia by boat should never be allowed to settle in the country, instead saying those found to have a valid claim for protection should be brought to Australia.Why isn’t public opinion being translated into government policy?Majority of Australians say refugees who arrive by boat should be let in, poll findsNews: Letter to the editor in The Age Wednesday 11th July07.2016News: One plus One with Kon Karapanayitidis06.2016Jane Hutcheon sits down with Kon Karapanagiotidis, founder and CEO of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre for an in-depth one on one conversation. Listen to the episode by following the link below:One Plus One: Kon KarapanayitidisNews: The ABC’s Religion and Ethics Report: “We Can Help More Asylum Seekers”06.2016Founder of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Kon Karapanayitidis feature’s in this episode of the Religion and Ethics Report, imploring Australians to think about refugees as they vote in the upcoming election. Listen to the episode by following the link below:We Can Help More Asylum SeekersNews: Peter Mares discusses Australia’s asylum policy on Inside Story06.2016The Coalition and Labor both say their offshore processing policies are driven by realism, writes Peter Mares. But a practical approach must engage with moral questions as well. Following the link below the read this interesting article:“None of us have hearts of stone”: refugees and the necessity of morality. Government policy: The Government says there are no longer children in detention. Is that true?06.2016

No, it is not.

There are more than 100 refugee and asylum seeker children detained in Nauru.There are currently 317 children in community detention.The average time spent by children in detention facilities is 457 days

Befriend a Child in Detention: Sending books and letters to Nauru.A message from Dr. June Factor06.2016

50 beautiful children’s books, each with a letter of greeting and friendship from children in Australia, have arrived in the detention centre on Nauru and have been distributed to the asylum seeker children.

At a time of great fear and sadness among the asylum seekers there, we hope that the books and letters we have sent will bring some happiness and hope to the children and their families, so cruelly and unjustly cast off on to a small, poverty-stricken island in the Pacific.

It is long past time they were brought back to Australia, and given the help they will need to recover from their suffering and despair.

June FactorConvenor, Befriend a Child in Detention Befriend a Child in Detention: This Matters To Me 06.2016

Befriend a Child in Detention has launched the ‘This Matters To Me’ campaign.

This campaign allows you to tell politicians exactly what matters to you in the lead up to the federal election on 2 July 2016.

You may like to:

Send a letter to the candidates

Post a photo on Instagram @BefriendAChildInDetention, and #ThisMattersToMe

Request some This Matters To Me postcards to distribute in your community or post to local candidates

We would love you to march with us!The Befriend a Child team will be meeting at 12:45pm at Mr. Tulk.328 Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000 – just around the corner from the State Library.

We will be giving out postcards that promote our new campaign – This Matters To Me, we will also have a card table set up encouraging people to sign our cards to send off to candidates standing in the upcoming Federal election.

Befriend a Child in Detention: Links Not Chains Event at Clonard College, Geelong

06.2016

The students at Clonard College, Geelong recently held a very thought provoking Links Not Chains event. We would like to thank them for their involvement in this program and commend them for raising awareness about the plight of asylum seekers.

Clonard College made the following statement about their event:

“Today we marked the conclusion of refugee week at Clonard. Students gave up their own lunchtime to put themselves in a ‘detention’ as a peaceful protest against keeping asylum seekers locked up in detention centres. We also put together our ‘links not chains’. All members of Clonard had the opportunity to make a paper link with a message of support for people in detention. These links were joined together to create a long paper chain. ‪#‎linksnotchains is about creating links of community, welcome and support….not chains of isolation.”

Policy Change: Release of children from closed immigration detention on Australia’s mainland04.2016

There have been recent changes in the Australian government’s policies regarding children in closed immigration detention. On 3 April 2016 the government announced that all children have been released from immigration detention on Australia’s mainland. This date marked the first time since Kevin Rudd came to power in 2007 that there were no asylum seeker children held in detention in Australia[1].

This policy change is ambiguous and misleading –

While the release of children from closed detention looks like wonderful news, there is more to the story than the government is saying. Following the publication of this story it was discovered that the release of children in immigration detention was “more bureaucratic slight of hand than emancipation”[2]. In reality, the Australian government have reclassified sections of some immigration detention centres as “community detention”. This allows them to claim that all children had been released from detention, without actually moving the children into alternate housing arrangements.

Children living in community detention benefit from reduced restrictions on their freedom of movement, for example children no longer require guards to escort them to school. However, many families are still living in ‘detention-like’ situations. A steel fence surrounds many housing arrangements for those living in community detention, and people still need permission to stay somewhere else overnight, or have overnight visitors[3]. As of 31 March 2016 there were 317 children living in community detention arrangements[4].

In addition to those children currently living in community detention in Australia, there are still 50 asylum-seeker children living in detention-like situations on the island of Nauru,[5] together with 117 children whose families have been declared refugees but are refused entrance to Australia.

Befriend a Child in Detention: Changes to Action04.2016

Due to the decreased number of children in closed detention, and the large number of letters and books that we currently have waiting to distribute, we have put a temporary pause on our letter writing program and on our request for books.

We have been joyfully overwhelmed by the public’s support of our letter-writing program to the children in detention. We still have more than 300 books and over 600 letters to distribute, and we now must do our best to reach the asylum seeker children released into community detention as well as those most deprived on Nauru. We are determined to maintain our connection to these children on Nauru – to assure them that the Australian public has not forgotten them.

We would like to thank everyone who has participated in this program. We have been immensely encouraged by the support offered from people of all ages across the nation. Thousands of good-hearted Australians have offered friendship and hope to the children forced to live in degrading and destructive circumstances in immigration detention.

Befriend a Child in Detention: Launch of ‘Links, Not Chains’ Project03.2016

Befriend a Child in Detention has an exciting new project called ‘Links, Not Chains’ which encourages schools to raise awareness about the experiences of those seeking asylum.

‘Links, Not Chains’ was born out of the idea that we should be creating links with those who are seeking refuge, rather than having them kept isolated from a welcoming community.

‘Links, Not Chains’ was launched at St Bernard’s Primary School in Coburg East on Thursday 10th of March. You can read an article about the launch published by The Guardian here, and follow this link for further information about ‘Links, Not Chains’ including how you can get involved.

Befriend a Child in Detention: Books and Letters Delivered in 201602.2016

During February 2016, the team at Befriend a Child have managed to pack and send 24 books and 48 letters to Sydney Immigration Transit Accommodation, 20 books and 40 letters to Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation and 108 books with 300+ letters to Wickham Point Alternate Place of Detention in Darwin. Packing of over 1000 books and 800+ letters is currently underway for the Detention centre on Nauru. We plan on donating some of the books to the school on Nauru, as suggested by children in detention on the island, to help ease tension between the asylum seekers and the locals. These books will be used by the children on Nauru, both asylum seekers and Nauruans alike.

Befriend a Child in Detention: We successfully distributed cards across the country!02.2016

The good people at Avant Card have kindly supported the project by printing and distributing 10,000 postcards throughout the country. The cards called on Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull to release children from detention. We’d like to say a HUGE Thank-you to the Avant Card team! Unfortunately there are no more postcards left in circulation, however, you can print out a copy here.

Befriend a Child in Detention: Behind the News10.2015

The ABC along with the students of Bell Primary School have produced a Behind the News story on the work of the Befriend a Child in Detention project. The episode went to air on ABC3 at 10am on the 20th of October 2015. Below is a link to the video for those who missed the show.